The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-20
THE KANGAROO'S HIDE.
1t Is Tanned and Makes Beautiful Shoes
Perils and Profits of Killing the Animal
Special to the Indianapolis journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journe.
NEWARK, N. j.. Nov. 19.--There are 5000
kangaroo skins received in this city every week
They are all tanned in one large establishment
on Sussex avenue and are then made into fine
shoes for both sexes. Australia and New Zea-
land furnish kangaroo hides for the world The
kangarooes are killed in Australia, about 800
miles back from the coast. and shipped from
Melbourne. Sydney and Newcastle in Australia.
and from Masterton, in New Zealand. Until
1869, the kangaroos were killed and eaten in
Australia and their hides were cut up into
shoestrings. But an Englishman named Brown
in that year discovered the wonderful consis-
tency of the grain in the leather and brought
several thousand skins to this country. He
tried to sell the hides to tanners, but they were
shy of the novelty. and he had to sell them at
sacrifice to book binder The book binder
made triangular corner pieces in ledgers and
commercial books out of the skins, and
certained the good quality of the leather. 1t
was in this way that the big leather men were
first attracted to kangaroo hide The skin was
found to be very tenacious and the grain
three times as thick any other The com
pactness of the grain prevents its absorbing
water. while the acids in backing meet with an
almost imperivous substance. It hard
work for years to get the kangaroo skins. 1t
was not until r. G. Solomon, the Newarker
three years ago, that the demand could be sup
piled. The characteristic climate of Australia
and the pugnacious tendencies of the kangaroo
make the hunt for the hides very dangerous.
Winter starts in May and ends in December in
that country The rest of the year the heat Is
intense, the THERMOMETERS frequently reaching
140 degrees. Eight men hunt together for kan
garoos. They are called a set" When brought
to bay the kangaroo jumps like fash for the
hunters chest and tries to crush it with his
forefeet. To prevent this each man wears across
his beast two three inch thick mating.
Armed with a spear, with club attachment at
the other end. they ride upon swift horses into
herd. With the agility and equ!pose of circus
riders. they stand erect upon their steeds, rarelv
falling off. and use their spears and clubs dex-
over horse. As the game is bagged it is de-
prived OF its coat. which is stretched
on the ground and pegged down to pre-
vent shrinkage while the flesh furnishes meat
for the camp. Each places his private
mark upon his booty. and when 100 apiece are
obtained they return back to civilization.
There twenty different sorts of kangaroos.
among them the blue red. Wallaby. black. gray
and Forester. the latter furnishing the best
leather, as it lives mainly in wooded sections
When the shipping ports reached the hunt
ers dispose of the skins by auction to the high
est bidders and realize about seventy cents
pound kangaroo hunters make fine livelihoods.
their gains often amounting up to several thou
sands of dollars per year, while one man is
known to have cleared s., 500 free of living ex-
penses.
In an interview recently Mr. Solomon said
that the tanning of the kangaroo skins is
fined to men employed by Americans, as other
dealers cannot afford to pay the high prices. for
the material The result is that Partisan
and London shoe manufacturers buy theirstock
of kangaroo leather directly from Newark, and
prominent dealers in Germany. Greece. Spain
and even Australia itself. obtain their supplies
from the same New Jersey source. The trade
has obtained such magnitude that the 6o0J
skins received and tanned here weekly are al
most inadequate. Thus the strange animal
discovered by Captain Cook, century ago. and
christened "Macaropas Major by scientists, has
become important element in commerce, and
the ''Booma, or old male. who. when domes-
ticated. becomes devotee to beer drinking,
finds himself serving a foot covering for the
effete scions of civilization.
LAWRENCE s. MORT